Milwaukee breweries from classic to craft

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A statue of legendary beer icon King Gambrinus decorates a courtyard at the historic Pabst brewery in Milwaukee, known around here as Brew City. Beer barons of the past such as Pabst, Miller, Schlitz and Blatz once ruled Milwaukee's taste buds, making it one of the great beer cities in the world. Today, while Miller's brands are still big business here, Milwaukee is experiencing a craft beer explosion. Mike Pramik

At the former Pabst headquarters in Milwaukee, Best Place is named for Jacob Best, the original large-scale brewer whose company eventually became Pabst Brewing. Jacob Best emigrated from Germany in 1842. He began brewing beer in 1844, two years before Milwaukee was founded and four years before Wisconsin became a state. Mike Pramik

A statue of Frederick Pabst highlights a courtyard at Best Place, on the grounds of the historic Pabst brewery. At Best Place, visitors can hear about the rich history of the Pabst Brewing Co., sip draft beer in the old Pabst tasting room and pore through beer memorabilia in the souvenir shop. MIke Pramik

The renovations at the old Pabst brewery include The Brewhouse Inn and Suites, a 90-room boutique hotel that opened in 2013. The hotel is in the former brewery production space, and its break room is where Pabst employees once sipped beer while on the job. The building includes Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub. Mike Pramik

Entrepreneur Jim Haertel saved two of the buildings that constitute Best Place and the Brewhouse Inn and Suites 17 years ago when the brewery was under consideration for obliteration. The inn contains the original six brew kettles used to make Pabst beer. “I just thought it would be a travesty to tear this down,” Haertel says. Mike Pramik

In Brew City’s heyday, the Pabst Brewing Co. was Milwaukee’s biggest-selling beer. Today, the only beer brewed by Pabst in the city is in this former church that Frederick Pabst bought for his employees. It houses Pabst Milwaukee, the company’s innovation brewery, where new recipes are tested and old recipes are brought back into production although limited to distribution within Wisconsin. Mike Pramik

A lighted Pabst sign dominates the interior space of Pabst Milwaukee, a small brewery and event space inside a former Methodist church on Pabst’s former Milwaukee campus. Pabst is now privately owned and based in Los Angeles, and the original-recipe beer is brewed under contract by MillerCoors. Mike Pramik

Brad Serdan serves a Pabst Andeker lager inside the Pabst Milwaukee brewery. Pabst revived the premium European-style lager during the '70s and discontinued it in the mid-'80s. It’s being brewed again at Pabst Milwaukee innovation brewery. Other styles sold here include strong ale, oatmeal stout and Eisbock, in addition to a classic PBR. Mike Pramik

No brewery is bigger these days in Milwaukee than the Miller Brewing Co., now owned by MillerCoors. The Milwaukee location annually churns out up to 10 million barrels of beer, including such well-known brands as Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors Light and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. Mike Pramik

Kimberly Coticchia, with Miller Brewing Co., pours a pint of Blue Moon beer in the Miller Inn, where hour-long, free brewery tours end and participants 21 and over can quaff a sample or two. MillerCoors has more than 50 brands of beer in its stable of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Mike Pramik

After Frederick Miller bought the Plank Road Brewery in 1855, he expanded to include 1,600 feet of caves for storing beer. A portion of the Miller Caves is now open for tours, where visitors can see how beer was kept before refrigeration. The first cave was dug in 1849, three years after the city of Milwaukee was plotted. Mike Pramik

The big breweries in Milwaukee established hundreds of “tied houses” around the turn of the 20th century. These were public houses where neighborhood denizens would come to eat and drink, and often bore the mark of the brewery that sponsored the beer. This example of a former Miller tied house, built in 1909, is on N. Bartlett Avenue on Milwaukee’s east side. Mike Pramik

The Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee is the former home of Frederick Pabst, the boat captain who parlayed a chance meeting with the daughter of brewer Jacob Best into owning one of the largest breweries in the world. Pabst built the home in 1892. After his death it became the home of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1908-75. Having later survived the wrecking ball, the mansion is now open for tours. Mike Pramik

Gary Strothmann, director of guest services at the Pabst Mansion, stands inside the parlor of Maria Pabst, wife of Frederick Pabst. The Pabsts had furniture custom made for each of the mansion’s 37 rooms. Mike Pramik

The gift shop in the Pabst Mansion is housed in the Pabst beer pavilion created for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. At the time, Pabst was the No. 1 lager brewer in the world. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee later used the space as a chapel after retrofitting it with stained-glass windows. Mike Pramik

Members of the Pabst family, as well as several other of Milwaukee’s “beer barons,” are buried in Forest Home Cemetery. A guided tour shows visitors the gravesites of the city’s brewers including Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, Gettlemen, Graff, Bills and Falk. Mike Pramik

The Brew City Milwaukee Beer Museum, in downtown Milwaukee, reflects the city’s reputation as a center for beer production. Operated by the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the museum is housed in a former Applebee’s restaurant and contains a huge collection of beer memorabilia. courtesy of Milwaukee County Historical Society

Ben Barbera, curator of the Brew City Milwaukee Beer Museum, strolls past some of the museum’s displays. Visitors can learn about the city’s beer heritage, see many artifacts from its beer-making heyday, then stop by the Beer Bar, where only Milwaukee-related brews are on tap. Mike Pramik

Milwaukee County has more than 140 parks and many of them were once owned by breweries, which set up outdoor beer gardens in nice weather. These days, the Milwaukee County Park System teams up with Sprecher Brewing Co. for traveling beer gardens throughout the summer. Sprecher has converted several fire trucks into portable breweries for the occasions. Mike Pramik

Sprecher Brewing Co. president Jeff Hamilton shows off the brewery’s cream soda at its headquarters on Glendale Avenue in Milwaukee. Established in 1985 by Randy Sprecher, a former Pabst supervisor, Sprecher Brewing qualifies as the oldest craft brewer in the city and brews 14 bottled sodas in addition to beer. The cream soda is caramelized in gas-fired kettles, giving it a toasted marshmallow flavor. Mike Pramik

John Wahlig, retail manager of Sprecher Brewing Co., fills up the “Flight of the Griffin,” a sampling of all 24 beers, hard sodas and ciders Sprecher offers on tap at its indoor beer garden in Milwaukee. The flavorful flight, named in honor of the company’s logo, sells for $35. Mike Pramik

Sprecher’s Piper’s Scotch ale is made with peated malt imported from Scotland. It constitutes the base for a Scotch-style whiskey produced by nearby Central Standard Craft Distillery. The whiskey is aged in bourbon barrels that had contained Sprecher’s Commando aged Scotch ale. Patrons can sample all three at Sprecher’s brewery. Mike Pramik

Lakefront Brewery is one of the top craft brewers in Wisconsin, producing nearly 50,000 barrels in 2017. Visitors can order pints of their favorite brews, which include several year-round ales and lagers, as well as a variety of seasonal beers. Lakefront also is known for its “My Turn” series, which gives its employees a chance to show their creativity. Mike Pramik

Lakefront Brewery’s whimsical Three Stooges signs hearken to the brewery’s beginning days in 1987. State regulations require breweries to identify the kettles the beer comes from. Rather than label them in code, Lakefront’s founders, brothers Russ and Jim Klisch, decided to call them Larry, Moe and Curly in honor of the classic comedy team. Mike Pramik

Jim McCabe, owner of Milwaukee Brewing Company, stands inside the company’s new production facility, which will include a bar and restaurant when it opens later this year. It’s three blocks from the new Milwaukee Bucks Arena. Founded in 1997, Milwaukee Brewing is now one of the biggest craft brewers in the city, producing almost 13,000 barrels last year. “It was a tough sell in the beginning, but it’s been a big success,” McCabe says. Mike Pramik

Milwaukee Brewing’s newly renovated production facility will cover 50,000 square feet when it opens this year. The building dates to 1977 and was the last one constructed by Pabst on its sprawling Milwaukee campus. Owner Jim McCabe shows off a rendering of the new space, which will include a bar, restaurant and all of the brewery’s production, and will be open for tours. Mike Pramik

When Milwaukee Brewing moved into space in the old Pabst brewery, it unearthed a Pabst sign that had been displayed at Summerfest, the city’s annual music festival. The sign will be displayed inside the new space when it debuts this year. Mike Pramik

One of the top-rated beer bars in Milwaukee is Romans’ Pub, tucked inside a former Schlitz tied house built in 1885 about five miles south of downtown. It’s been called one of the best places to drink in Wisconsin several years running by 'Draft' magazine for its daring menu, which features imports and craft beers from around the country. Mike Pramik

While you won’t find many, if any, Milwaukee-made beers here, Romans’ Pub offers dozens of beers on tap from around the USA. Owner Mike Romans ages barrels of beer for up to a decade. “In 1996 I got mad at Miller and told them to get their beer out of here,” Romans says. “I started doing imports, and it’s gone on from there.” Mike Pramik

Mike Romans, the larger-than-life owner of Romans’ Pub, knows his beer. He’s run his pub for 40 years and in 1996 decided his days of selling mass-produced suds were over. He maintains strict control over the lines for his dozens of taps and even custom blends the gas used to pour draft beer. “There are 1,600 other bars in Milwaukee, but my clientele comes from all over town,” he says. Mike Pramik

Chef Adam Siegel displays a plate of pan-seared trout and a glass of beer at Harbor House restaurant on Lake Michigan. Siegel often pairs Wisconsin beer with food at the eatery, part of the local Bartolotta Restaurants group. Mike Pramik

When friends David Dupee, Andy Jones and Dan Katt decided to start a brewery, they sought out a dense, walkable neighborhood that was underserved in craft beer. They found it in Milwaukee’s east side, where they set up Good City Brewing in June 2016 and have been expanding ever since. Good City's next step will be a big one: a two-story taproom in a downtown building being developed by the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks adjacent to its new arena. Mike Pramik

Co-founder David Dupee holds an order of curry fries and a brew in the Good City Brewing taproom/restaurant. Good City designed its food menu to pair with the beers it brews, which has been a success on Milwaukee’s east side. “We’ve had over 100,000 people come through the door a year, so it’s a great market,” Dupee says. Mike Pramik

Since opening in September 2016, Third Space Brewery in Milwaukee has become one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the country, on pace this year to double its 2017 volume of 2,200 barrels thanks to a current expansion. Third Space beer is distributed in 350 bars and restaurants in a seven-county area around the city. Mike Pramik

Patrons crowd Third Space’s production facility and taproom on Milwaukee Day, April 14. The brewery’s name refers to a cherished additional space to hang out beyond home and work. “Craft beer can be intimidating to people,” says co-owner Andy Gehl. “We wanted to cut through the snobbery and create a craft brewery that was welcoming, with beers that are very drinkable and balanced.” Mike Pramik

Andy Gehl, co-founder of Third Space Brewery, sips a beer in the brewery’s storage area. Gehl and business partner Kevin Wright met as summer camp counselors, and they established the brewery in 2016. Wright won the JS Ford Award, presented by the London-based International Institute of Brewing and Distilling for top academic performance, in 2009. Mike Pramik

Third Space prefers to filter the cloudiness out of all its brews. “Our brewing philosophy here is we’re trying to make big, bold flavorful beer but in very balanced and drinkable flavors,” says co-owner Andy Gehl. “That’s hard to do.” Mike Pramik

City Lights Brewing Company occupies space in a historic coal gasification plant, built in the early 20th century, that once powered the city’s lights. A summer expansion will allow the brewery to produce 15,000 barrels a year. Mike Pramik

T-shirts and related knickknacks welcome visitors to the City Lights taproom on Milwaukee’s West Side. There’s a limited menu at the taproom and tours are conducted each Saturday in the historic building. Mike Pramik

City Lights brewmaster Jimmy Gohsman pours a beer at the City Lights taproom. The brewery debuted with an amber ale, IPA, brown ale and session IPA, and has expanded to porters, stouts and other beers. Its No. 1 retail seller is a coconut porter, made with a pound of toasted coconut in each barrel. Mike Pramik

Brewmaster Jimmy Gohsman pulls a sample from one of the tanks at City Lights brewery. A self-confessed “hop head,” Gohsman says the brewery “makes beers that I want to drink, but they’re also beers that other people want to drink.” Mike Pramik

Tim and Toni Eichinger set up Black Husky Brewing in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood in 2016, and the couple’s brewing roots stretch deeper, to northern Wisconsin. They established the business in 2010 in the tiny town of Pembine, Wis., while raising their son and tending after a pack of 23 sled dogs. While no longer sledding, their love of their dogs lives on in the names of their beers. Mike Pramik

Tim Eichinger pauses inside Black Husky’s hip taproom, a carving of his beloved husky Howler watching over the space. While the brewery is quickly gaining a reputation for making solid beers, Eichinger still delivers the beer himself by van. “The main resource we have is our work ethic,” he says. Mike Pramik

Tim Eichinger, right, and Josh Betka work the bottling line at Black Husky Brewing in Milwaukee. “We do a lot of big beers,” says Eichinger. “I like beer that has a lot of flavor in it. I don’t think you should have to search around for what something tastes like.” Mike Pramik

1840 Brewing Company’s name hearkens back to the year beer was first made commercially in Brew City. It’s a hyper-craft brewery in the city’s Bay View neighborhood focusing on barrel-aged beers. Mike Pramik

Owners Kyle and Stephanie Vetter stand inside the 1840 Brewing Company taproom. 1840 Brewing is open to members only a few days a month, and to the public the second Saturday of each month. “Beer brings people together,” Kyle Vetter says. “That’s our favorite part.” Mike Pramik

Kyle Vetter, founder of 1840 Brewing, learned the craft while running the barrel-aging program at Aspen Brewing Company in Aspen, Colo. "Our barrel-aged beers spend at least three months, and up to a year, in the barrels," he says. "Our tagline is ‘drink slow beer.’" Mike Pramik

While barrel-aged beers are the primary focus, 1840 Brewing also offers a variety of more traditional brews in bottles and on tap. “While I’m passionate about the mixed-culture and wild beers, a lot of people don’t know what they are,” says owner Kyle Vetter. “We make these other beers to get the public in here, and they can try beers that are a little more out there.” Mike Pramik

The Explorium Brewpub opened in January 2017 in a former Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant inside Southridge Mall in the village of Greendale, Wis., outside Milwaukee. The brew pub serves the local community with a 10-barrel brewhouse and seven fermenters. Mike Pramik

Michael Kruse pours a beer from one of Explorium Brewpub’s many taps at the bar and restaurant in suburban Milwaukee. Explorium uses 16 serving tanks, so patrons can choose from a huge assortment of brews, including Belgian-style beers, IPAs and lagers. Mike Pramik

The Explorium Brewpub owner Mike Doble sets up a flight of beers at his pub inside Southridge Mall. Doble got the brewing idea from his parents, who own a brewpub in Tampa, Fla. Explorium sold more than 700 barrels in 2017, its first year in business, and Doble foresees a better 2018. “I have regular customers, and we’re their neighborhood brewery,” he says. Mike Pramik

Founders Henry Schwartz and Andrew Gierczak established MobCraft Beer as the nation’s first crowdsourced beer. New flavors are born every month, from recipes sent in by the public. Eight finalists are chosen, and the brewery will produce the beer that collects the most preorders. The brewery started in Madison and moved to Milwaukee in 2016. Mike Pramik

Many of the winning beers at MobCraft are up for sale daily inside the taproom in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. The fun space includes foosball and ping pong tables, and features live music. Mike Pramik

Dave Olson leads a group of beer lovers around MobCraft Brewing. For $13, visitors can learn about the crowdsourced model, see how beer is brewed and have a couple of glasses of their choice at the end. They also can fill out a form to suggest a beer of their own. Mike Pramik

Mader’s Restaurant on Old World 3rd Street is the oldest restaurant in Milwaukee, established by immigrant Charles Mader in 1902. The German eatery has drawn a long list of celebrities and politicians and contains dozens of genuine artifacts from Bavaria, including paintings, medieval suits of armor and stained glass. The collection is said to be worth millions of dollars. Mike Pramik

Andrew Ohlsson displays a giant pretzel at Mader’s, custom made for the restaurant by Milwaukee Pretzel Co. The oversized snacks go well with a variety of German-brewed beers served at the historic Milwaukee restaurant. Mike Pramik

No brewery is bigger these days in Milwaukee than the Miller Brewing Co., now owned by MillerCoors. The Milwaukee location annually churns out up to 10 million barrels of beer, including such well-known brands as Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors Light and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.(Photo: Mike Pramik)

A beer-making (and drinking) tradition that spans more than 175 years has earned Milwaukee the nickname Brew City.

Early beer barons began brewing here before Milwaukee became a city and before Wisconsin earned its statehood, and now are revered in the city’s lore. The Major League Baseball team isn’t called the Brewers for nothing.

German immigrants who settled here in the mid-1800s brought with them the know-how to produce high-quality lagers, and ultimately dozens of breweries sprang up to cement the city’s stock in brewing.

Some say Milwaukee’s sudsy reputation exploded after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, when the Illinois city’s thirst could not be quenched and Milwaukee sent water and beer southward. This outward view ultimately resulted in Milwaukee’s beers being distributed far beyond the Windy City.

By the turn of the 20th century, Milwaukee became known as the city of beer barons. Names like Pabst, Schlitz, Miller and Blatz were joined by others, and the city thrived. Breweries were required to provide beer breaks during their workers’ shifts. Tied houses, bars “tied” to a particular brewer, sprang up all over town. For a nickel you could buy a beer and a seat at the house’s buffet table.

"We have in Wisconsin what they refer to as a ‘drinking culture,’" says Black Husky Brewing co-founder Tim Eichinger. “We like to drink in Wisconsin.”

The city’s love affair with beer survived Prohibition and thrived well into the 1970s, when TV’s Laverne and Shirley worked the production line at the fictional Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee, the name an amalgam of the city’s beer barons.

But the good times eventually began to dry up, one bottle at a time, as most of the big breweries scaled back, shut down or were sold. One of the biggest shocks came in 1981, when the Schlitz family sold the once-bustling brewery to Stroh Brewery Co. of Detroit.

All is not lost, though. For one, Miller still makes upwards of 10 million barrels a year at its Milwaukee production facility. Although it’s based elsewhere, Miller still has 163 years of history behind it in Milwaukee. And in the past few years a new wave of craft brewers has arisen, in some cases eager youngsters who want to make their mark.

So what kind of beer town is Milwaukee now? A bit late to the craft beer party, yet a thirsty one, say local brewers. There are more than 30 breweries in the city and surrounding areas, and it’s once again a great place to find a beer. And the city certainly has history on its side.

“There’s a huge beer renaissance going on right now in Milwaukee,” says Mike Doble, owner of Explorium Brewpub in suburban Milwaukee. “We have the same Lake Michigan water that made Schlitz and Pabst and all these guys famous. We can build on that heritage and do something cool and a little more with the times.”

Let’s explore some of the city’s past and several of the current entrepreneurs who are striving to solidify Milwaukee’s reputation as Brew City. Take a virtual beer scene tour in the photo gallery above, and celebrate American craft beer below.

In Scottsdale, Ariz., Craft64 serves 30 Arizona craft beers on tap, including a handful of house brews, plus more than 50 bottles. Pair with wood-fired pizza and a full food menu. Larry Olmsted, for USA TODAY

Colorado's Wynkoop is a brewery and kitchen open daily in Denver, where tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday. Try the Mile High Mix of fan favorites, including Belgorado IPA made with barley grown in the state's San Luis Valley and hops handpicked at Misty Mountain Hop Farm in Olathe, Colo. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

Connecticut's Two Roads Brewing Company experiments with all kinds of ingredients in Stratford. Of the many, Urban Funk Wild Ale was made with wild yeasts captured in the state by Sacred Heart University. It's only available at the brewery -- tasting room open daily, tours offered Friday to Sunday. courtesy of Two Roads Brewing Company

Georgia's Pretoria Fields Collective is a group of farmers and brewers growing more than 200 acres of organic barley, fruit, hops and wheat in Albany. The state's only farmhouse brewery makes four beers with 20-60% of grains grown onsite so far, available to taste Thursday to Sunday. courtesy of Pretoria Fields Collective

Grand Teton Brewing Company uses glacial run-off water, Idaho-grown and malted barley, and a variety of Idaho hops in its Teton Range IPA. The pub is open daily and tours are offered Monday to Thursday in Victor, Idaho. Caleb Guerber

Illinois' Hand of Fate Brewing Company makes 1818 Prairie State Farmhouse Ale with Illinois-grown ingredients for the state's bicentennial. It's available all year, and the brewery's tap room is open Wednesday to Sunday in Petersburg, Ill. courtesy of Hand of Fate Brewing Company

Kansas' Lawrence Beer Co. collaborates with local Repetition Coffee on its Cahoots stout and local soccer team Kaw Valley FC on the Kaw Valley Kolsch. The kitchen and patio are open daily in Lawrence, Kan. courtesy of Lawrence Beer Co.

Foundation Brewing Company makes its Maine IPA, called Venture, with barley, oats and wheat grown in state. The Portland, Maine tasting room is open Wednesday to Monday with food trucks on weekends, and a seasonal family and dog-friendly patio. Sean Alonzo Harris

In Maryland's Balt County, B.C. Brewery debuts its 5,000-square-foot taproom (with a self-serve tap wall) in Hunt Valley on April 14. Go for the PawPaw Wheat, made with PawPaw fruit from Deep Run PawPaw Orchard in Westminster, Md. courtesy of B.C. Brewery

In Massachusetts, Lefty's Brewing Company serves tasting flights on cedar boards made locally by Gill Country Clear Wood Works. Try Valley Rye with local hops from Four Star Farms in Northfield, Mass., and local grains from Valley Malt in Hadley, Mass., at the Greenfield tap room open Wednesday to Sunday. courtesy of Lefty's Brewing Company

Michigan's Silver Harbor Brewing Company is known for its Kumbaya Brown Ale, served with hickory smoke, and makes its Sunrise Breakfast Stout with local Ferris Coffee Kona Coffee. Try a Michigan-shaped tasting flight at the brewery and soon-to-open beer garden in Saint Joseph, Mich. courtesy of Silver Harbor Brewing Company

Mississippi Ale House features Mississippi beers (1817, Chandeleur, Mighty Miss, Slowboat and more) on 19 taps in Olive Branch, Miss., open Tuesday to Sunday. The bar will host the first Mississippi Ale House Brew Fest on Saturday, April 7. Mississippi Ale House

Missouri's Piney River Brewing Co. makes its Black Walnut Wheat with wild, hand-harvested black walnuts that are native to the Ozarks. Visit the 75-year old barn taproom in Bucyrus, Mo., Friday to Sunday. courtesy of Piney River Brewing Co.

Montana's Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company (formerly The Front Brewing Co.) uses World Class Pale 2-Row Barley Malt from Great Falls and locally harvested honey from Smoot Honey Company in Power, Mont. Visit the bar in Great Falls. courtesy of Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company

Nebraska Brewing Company makes Meadowlark pale ale with 100% Nebraska-grown hops. The brewery and taproom are open Tuesday to Sunday in La Vista, Neb., with tours on Thursdays and Saturdays. There's a brewpub open daily in Papillion, Neb. courtesy of Nebraska Brewing Company

Henniker Brewing Co.'s Damn Sure Double IPA is only available in New Hampshire. The dog-friendly Henniker, N.H., taproom is open Tuesday to Saturday with three tours available on Saturdays. courtesy of Henniker Brewing Co.

New Jersey Beer Co. offers brews like Garden State Stout and Weehawken Wee Heavy on state-shaped taps. The North Bergen tasting room is open Wednesday to Sunday with free tours available. courtesy of New Jersey Beer Co.

Crystal Coast Brewing Company uses North Carolina-grown rye for its lagers and pilsners. Order a state-shaped tasting flight at Crystal Coast's taprooms in Atlantic Beach and Morehead City, N.C. courtesy of Crystal Coast Brewing Company

Stonehome Brewing Co. uses barley grown and malted in North Dakota and works with local farmers to increase local hop growing. Try Dacotah Wheat or Juneberry Jam fruit ale made with North Dakota Wild Northern Prairie Berries at the Watford City brewery, open daily. courtesy of Stonehome Brewing Co.

Ohio's Jackie O's Brewery has its own farm and uses local ingredients like wildflower honey and spruce tips. Visit the taproom (open daily), brewpub (Tuesday-Thursday) or Public House (open daily) in Athens. Wendy Pramik, for USA TODAY

Established in 1890, Narragansett Beer is classic Rhode Island, and its Town Beach Day Pass IPA is named after Narragansett's summer destination. Narragansett's made at brewery co-op The Guild in Pawtucket, R.I. The tap room is open Thursday to Sunday with tours available on Sundays. courtesy of Narragansett Beer

Texas' Alamo Beer Company serves tasting flights shaped like San Antonio's The Alamo. Less than a mile from Alamo Plaza, the beer hall and garden are open Thursday to Sunday with tours offered on Thursdays. Ashley Day, USA TODAY

Utah's Uinta Brewing pays homage to America's public lands with its Golden Ale Park Series. The Salt Lake City Brewhouse Pub is open Monday to Saturday, with a General Store open on weekdays. courtesy of Uinta Brewing

Vermont's Long Trail Brewing Co. makes VT IPA in the Juicy or Hazy IPA style recently recognized by the Brewers Association. The brewery's Bridgewater Corners pub and restaurant is open daily. courtesy of Long Trail Brewing Co.

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery features local ingredients in its seasonal Virginia Roots series. In summer, Virginia Blackberry is made with local Agriberry blackberries. Hardywood hosts breweries and taprooms in Charlottesville, Richmond and West Creek (all closed Mondays). courtesy of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

West Virginia's Mountain State Brewing Co. grows its own hops at its brewery and taproom in Thomas, W.V. (open Thursday to Sunday). Celebrate the state's outdoors areas with Seneca IPA and Dolly Sods Cranberry Wheat, or local ingredients in Closs' Harvest and Homegrown Wet Hop IPA. courtesy of Mountain State Brewing Co.

Wyoming's Snake River Brewing offers tours on Tuesday and Thursday and a Jackson Hole Brewpub open daily. The brewery partnered with the National Park Foundation on its Jenny Lake Lager to support the Inspiring Journeys campaign for Jenny Lake. courtesy of Snake River Brewing